Roller cam latch for window

ABSTRACT

An inwardly and downwardly sloping cam is mounted along the lower edge of a hingedly suspended window to overlie a flat horizontal surface of a sill element. A latch roller is journaled on a laterally inwardly biased spring support to lie between the cam and the sill when the window is closed, in which position the inward bias on the roller urges it into contact with both the cam and sill surface, where it acts in the manner of a ball clutch to latch the window in closed condition. Relative outward movement of the roller frees it from compression between the cam and sill and permits the window to be opened.

United States Patent [191 Hill ROLLER CAM LATCH FOR WINDOW Charles C. Hill, La Jolla, Calif.

Assigneez Rohr Industries, ln'c.', Chula'Vista,

Calif. "v 9 Filed: Oct. 4, 1972 Appl. No.: 294,959

Inventor:

Int. Cl...; E05b 65/10 Field of Search 292/61, 84, 239, 252, 261,

292/341.l5, 341.17, DIG. 7, DIG. 20, 92, 93

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1954 Giordano....-'. 292/342 4/1909 Robinson 292/261 X 2/1910, Weileret a1. ...292/DlG. 7UX

11"] 9 3,802,725 [451 Apr. 9, 1974 2,830,843 4/1958 Seaburg et a1. 292/D1G. 20 UX Primary Examiner-Joseph, 1-1. McGlynn Assistant Examiner-Richard P. Tremblay 5 7 ABSTRACT An inwardlyand downwardly sloping cam is mounted along the lower edge of a hingedly suspended window to overlie a flat horizontal surface of a sill element. A latch roller is journaled on a laterally inwardly biased spring support to lie between the cam and the sill when the window is closed, in which position the inward bias on the roller urges it into contact with both the cam andsill surface, where it acts in the manner of a ball clutch to latch the window in closed condition. Relative outward movement of the roller frees it from compression between the cam and sill and permits the window to be opened.

I v '3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures V 20 33 t; 3 37 i 9353 I5 21/9, I8

ll 'j 1O 1/ I2 I r ROLLER CAM LATCH FOR WINDOW BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A hingedly suspended window designed primarily for use in a transportation type vehicle, such as a bus or train car, is disclosed in co-pending US. Pat. application, Ser. No. 267,427, filed 6/29/72, by K. W. Tantlinger, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The window illustrated in the foregoing application comprises a single sheet of suitable transparent material, such as, for example, glass, and is hingedly suspended by its upper edge from a continuous, resilient, hinge strip. In use, it is mandatory that the windows of the vehicle remain securely closed, even under relatively high loads, as in the event of a collision or other accident, and still be easy to release for cleaning or emergency escape. A roller cam latch based on the same scientific principleas the present invention, but different in many respects, is disclosed in co-pending Pat. application, Ser. No. 294,960, by Robert A. Noga,

filed of even date herewith, and assigned to the as- PURPOSE OF THE INVENTION A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a simple, positive cam roller latch for use on a hingedly suspended window.

A further objective of the invention is to provide such a window latch comprising an inwardly extending and downwardly inclined cam flange along the lower edge of the window, which, in closed position of the window overlies a substantially horizontal, smooth surface pro vided on a window sill element. A roller is rotatively mounted beneath the flange on an inwardly spring biased support, which also is capable of being moved manually outwardly when it is desired to free the window for opening, When the window is closed, the roller is biased outwardly to engage both the flange and the sill surface, and thereby latch the window in closed position in the manner. of a ball clutch.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONOFTHE DRAWINGS The foregoing objectives and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the accompanying drawings wherein,

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary elevational view showing the window sill area of a transportation type vehicle with a cam roller latch embodying present invention installed therein.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional-view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTIONOF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the drawings in detail, a cam roller latch A embodying the invention is provided for use on a hingedly suspended window for use preferably in a transportation type vehicle such as a bus or train car. As illustrated, a vehicle side wall extrusion 10, which may be of aluminum, preferably extends substantially the entire length of the side wall of thevehicle and an upwardly open channel 11, with undercut side walls, is provided in the upper portion of the extrusion 10. The

thickened lower edge portion of a window bottom sealing strip 12 is inserted in retained position in this channel, the sealing strip having two integral lips 12a and 126 which are engaged by, and seal, the bottom of a hingedly suspended window 13 when the latter is swung downwardly and inwardly to its closed position as illustrated in FIGS. land 2. l

The window 13 is essentially a single pane of suitable transparent material, such as, for example, tempered or safety glass or'transparent plastic material, with a channel edge member 14, which preferably is an extrusion of suitable material such as aluminum, fitted and adhesively bonded to its lower edge. An integral flange 15 extends from the bottom of the channel member 14 for sealing engagement with the sealing strip 12.

A latching cam flange 17 extends inwardly, in downwardly sloping relation, from an upper portion of the inner side flange of the channel member 14. A slope of the order of 10 from the horizontal has been found satisfactory for the under surface of this cam flange. The inner end portion, 18 of this cam flange extends downwardly and terminates just clear of a horizontal sill'surface 19 formed on the upper edge of the extrusion 10, while upwardly projecting lip 20 also is provided on the inner end portion of the cam flange 17 and serves as a handle for drawing the window inwardly if required to insure full sealing engagement with the bottom sealing strip 12 and usual side seals, not illustrated.

A roller 21 of suitable material, for example, a hard, durable, plastic substance, or metal, and with its peripheral surface having a suitablyhigh coefficient of friction, is rotatively' mounted on aligned, reversely bent intermediate portions 22 and 23 of a roller support and biasing member 24, best shown in FIG. 3. The member 24 is of suitable material, for example, spring steel wire, with arched arms 27 and 28 with reversely curved end portions 29 and 30 respectively.

The inner portion of the biasing support member 24 is bent to form a rectangular loop 31, comprising parallel side portions 32 and 33, and a transverse inner end portin 34. The loop side portions 32 and 33 fit for axial, slidable movement into a slotted opening 34a provided therefor in the downwardly curved inner portion 18 of the camflange 17. A push plate 35, with suitable indicia inscribed thereon if desired, see FIG. 1, is secured to the transverse inner'portion 34 of the member 24. The curved end portions 29 and 30 of the roller biasing support member 24 ride in a groove 37 provided on the inner side of the window channel 14 and urge the roller 21 inwardly, so that when the window 13- is closed, the roller is urged to seated position between the under surface of the cam flange 17 and the flat sill surface 19 of theextrusion 10.

OPERATION OF THE ILLUSTRATED FORM OF THE INVENTION Assuming that initially the window 13 is in its closed position shown in FIG. 2, the channel flange 15 is in compressive, sealing, engagement with the inner lip 12b of the lower window seal 12, and the outer sealing lip 12a is bent inwardly in wiping, sealing, engagement with the bottom of the channel flange 15. The roller 21 is seated between the cam biasing flange 17 and sill surface 19 by the arched arms 27 and 28 of the roller support member 24 to securely latch the window in closed position in the manner of a coventional ball clutch. In this positionof the parts, any force applied to the window tending toopen it will merely cause the roller to be more firmly'engaged by the'cam flange l7 and sill surface 19 and thereby prevent such opening, even under substantial stress such as might be applied, for example, in the case of collision of other accident subjected by the vehicle in which the invention is mounted.

in order to release the latch A, the push plate 35 is pushed manually outwardly to move the roller 21 against the biasing force of the spring arms 27 and 28 to free it from the cam flange l7, whereupon the window is free to open.

Assuming that the window is open, it may be manually held outwardly from the extrusion a distance of several inches and released, whereupon gravity will swing the window downwardly and inwardly toward closed position, the gravitational force and the resultant momentum of the swinging window being usually sufficient to cause the roller 21 to roll inwardly, overcoming the bias of the support member 24 as required to allow the window to move to fully closed position.

If desired, the lip 20 may be grasped manually to urge the window to more fully seated position against the inner sealing lip 20.

The invention provides a simple, strong, positive window latch, which is relatively inexpensive, easy to install, and when latched, resists application of increasing opening force with increasing latching effect. It has no tendency to freeze up or sieze with the lapse of time, which if thistendency were present, might result in adangerous situation in the event of an emergency requiring escape of the passengers. An important feature of the invention resides in the fact that all windows can be closed and latched by simple pressure on their exterior faces, as by running the vehicle past a spring pressed roller as the vehicle returns to a storage or serpended window mounted in a window opening having a sill along the lower edge thereof, said latc'h'mechanism comprising:

a cam member mounted to overlie the sill with the window in closed position,

a roller mounted rotatively betweenthe cam member and sill with the window in such closed position spring means biasing the roller into rolling contact with the cam member and sill with the window in closed position,

said spring means comprising a spring wire support member resiliently bearing against the lower edge portion of the window and projecting inwardly beyond the cam member to bias the roller mechanism,

the cam member being disposed at an angle relative to the sill to latch the window in closed position in the manner of a ball-cam clutch, and means for moving the roller free of the cam member to release the window for opening.

2. A roller cam latch mechanism as defined in claim 1, wherein the cam member is mounted along a lower edge portion of the window and is inclined laterally, inwardly and downwardly, and a substantially horizontal cam surface is provided on the window sill in position for seating the roller thereon with the window in closed position.

3. A roller cam latch mechanism as defined in claim 1, wherein the spring wire member comprises a pair of reversely bent portions extending intoaxial cavities provided in the ends of the roller for rotatively supporting the roller thereon, a pair of outwardly bowed arms which resiliently engage a lower portion of the window, and a generally rectangularly bent inward extension projecting through an opening provided therefor in the laterally inward portion of the cam member and projecting inwardly therefrom sufficiently for engagement by a person within a vehicle in which the mechanism is mounted for freeing the roller from the cam member. =l 

1. A roller cam latch mechanism for a hingedly suspended window mounted in a window opening having a sill along the lower edge thereof, said latch mechanism comprising: a cam member mounted to overlie the sill with the window in closed position, a roller mounted rotatively between the cam member and sill with the window in such closed position spring means biasing the roller into rolling contact with the cam member and sill with the window in closed position, said spring means comprising a spring wire support member resiliently bearing against the lower edge portion of the window and projecting inwardly beyond the cam member to bias the roller mechanism, the cam member being disposed at an angle relative to the sill to latch the window in closed position in the manner of a ballcam clutch, and means for moving the roller free of the cam member to release the window for opening.
 2. A roller cam latch mechanism as defined in claim 1, wherein the cam member is mounted along a lower edge portion of the window and is inclined laterally, inwardly and downwardly, and a substantially horizontal cam surface is provided on the window sill in position for seating the roller thereon with the window in closed position.
 3. A roller cam latch mechanism as defined in claim 1, wherein the spring wire member comprises a pair of reversely bent portions extending into axial cavities provided in the ends of the roller for rotatively supporting the roller thereon, a pair of outwardly bowed arms which resiliently engage a lower portion of the window, and a generally rectangularly bent inward extension projecting through an opening provided therefor in the laterally inward portion of the cam member and projecting inwardly therefrom sufficiently for engagement by a person within a vehicle in which the mechanism is mounted for freeing the roller from the cam member. 